The Mud Lake trails will be closed from mid-August to December while improvements will be made to raise the trails in spots and make them more accessible. This is likely the last Mud Lake PhotoStory until next year.
A few of the male adult wood ducks are coming out of their molt (with some odd colouration on their sides), while some of the first-hatched juvenile males were starting to show some hints of their colours to come - red eys, reddish beaks and whitish breasts.
I always like to catch a wing flap in the "conductor" position....
The ducks certainly like this log, Frequently 4-5 can be found on it, this day had to settle for three. Juvenile male wood duck in the lily pads
Black duck top, mallard bottom.(?)
Female hooded merganser with crayfish breakfast
A green heron was high up on a branch having a a good scratch and wing stretch
One of the juvenile black-crowned night herons was sitting on the large rock by the observation platform
A shy (?) chickadee and a young robin
The warblers are starting their migration south perhaps. There were a few American redtstarts flitting about in the bushes. This one is a female.
Yellow-rumped warbler and a Cape May Warbler
The cardinals are in various stage of molt, this female needs to find a hat
Not sure what this male cardinal found to eat, but it certainly looks messy, he too is recovering from his mol;t
Only three of the turkeys were seen. One adult male and two females
Juvenile bald eagle flypast
One particular young maple that has its roots in the water turns colour earlier than the others. It was showing signs of fall colour beginning.
A few of the flowers in blossom
Dame's rocket
Musk mallow
Bull thistle
Flowering rush
Woodland sunflower
Bindweed
Impatiens (Touch-me-not)
Butter and Eggs
The honeysuckle and choke cherries glistened with dew drops, while the lily pads collected their share of the rain.
Two "critters" (loosely defined) were Mr Big Foot and a large white butterfly. That is its actual name although it isn't that large. It seems to be a larger version of the more usually seen cabbage white butterflies.
Mr Bigfoot's curious cousin
With all the rain, the mushrooms have sprouted earlier than normal.
One variety looks like a golf ball on a tee
But for me, my find of the day was a crab spider's find of the day.
I suspect the bumble bee was caught out in the rain of last night and sought shelter in a viper's bugloss, when the temperature went relatively low the bee became lethargic and the crab spider acquired a large food larder that would likely last several days.
Video compilation, August 8 visit
Wild turkeys, wood ducks, grey squirrel
Video compilation, August 16 visit
Molting cardinals, wood ducks, hooded merganser